English III American Literature Outside Reading Project – 1st 9 Weeks You will be required to complete one independent reading assignment per 9 weeks. You may choose one of the short stories listed below for the first 9 weeks project. For this assignment, you will prove your understanding of your independent reading story by writing an annotated summary following the guidelines below. You will summarize the main ideas/plot of the piece using carefully selected quotations to support the main ideas. You will document each quote according to MLA style. Your paper must be typed and turned in via www.turnitin.com.

Choose one of the following short stories( you can download them from my fusion page): “In Another Country” – Ernest Hemingway “A Rose for Emily” – by William Faulkner “Winter Dreams”- by F. Scott Fitzgerald “A Worn Path” – by Eudora Welty “The Rockpile” – by James Baldwin “Everyday Use” – by Alice Walker “Antojos”- Julia Alvarez Due Date: Instructions:

1. Title: your author’s name followed by a colon and the title of the piece. Remember that the title of novels should be italicized.

2. Below Title: you should write a Works Cited entry for your piece following your title and above the introduction to your paper. This entry should be formatted according to MLA style.

3. Introductory paragraph: should contain the author’s name and title (again), a brief (one sentence) synopsis of the piece, the setting and the principle characters. Yes, this is a very brief paragraph!

4. First Body Paragraph: Briefly summarize the plot of the entire piece. This paragraph should be no less than half a page and no more than one page in length. Include two direct quotations from the story that are significant and support your summary. Weave these quotes into your sentences within your paragraph. Document quotes correctly.

5. Second Body Paragraph: Discuss at least two major themes in the story. Use two documented quotes in this paragraph from the novel that directly reflect or support the themes.

6. Third Body Paragraph: Describe the central character’s primary conflict and how that conflict is resolved. Use two documented direct quotes from the novel that support your discussion of the conflict and resolution.

7. Fourth Body Paragraph: Choose one of the following literary elements to discuss. Make sure you choose one that is clearly used by your author in your novel: irony, figurative language, interesting diction, sensory imagery, foreshadowing, flashbacks, symbolism, or unique point of view. Use two carefully selected documented direct quotations from the story that are evidence of the author’s use of the literary device that you chose. 8. Conclusion: This paragraph is very important. You must dig for the author’s meaning. Discuss why the author wrote the piece. What is his/her message?